Travis “TJ” Good woke up at 7 a.m. Tuesday shaky. He vomited and complained to his roommates that his body ached.

He thought that he had a fever, which at the time appeared to be nothing more than a common bug.

At 11:30 p.m., Bryce Rasmussen returned to the emergency room, where he had left his roommate, to be told that in the approximately two hours that he’d been gone Good died.

The cause of Good’s death has been preliminarily confirmed as bacterial meningitis, but the specific cause has yet to be identified said Michelle Hendricks, director of student health at the Thielen Student Health Center.

Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain.

The illness is caused by three kinds of bacteria, which live harmlessly in humans’ mouths and throats: Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Which bacteria caused the infection is important because it can determine which type of antibiotics to administer in order to prevent the disease from spreading to other people; the results from Goods case are expected to arrive by Wednesday at the latest from the University Health Lab at Iowa City.

“[Bacterial meningitis] is not common, it’s a rare and devastating illness,” Hendricks said. “It’s prevalent in young children or people within the ages of 18 to 24, so it’s an illness we’re always conscious of.”

Good’s case is only the third reported among ISU students within the past five or six years, said Hendricks.

The health center and the Story County Public Health Office have been working together in response to Good’s death to identify anyone that might have come in full social contact with Good, and thus be at risk for infection.

Hendricks clarified that the spreading of bacterial meningitis is something that requires full social contact, defined as sharing the same living environment, eating meals together or drinking from the same cup.

Exposure from being in the same classroom or some similar situation wouldn’t be enough to put one at increased risk of infection.

“It’s a really difficult and sad situation,” said Hendricks. “We’ve been working closely with students and they’ve been very helpful in identifying anyone that may have come in contact with Travis. We’re very appreciative for all of the help that they’ve provided.”

Rasmussen, senior in chemistry, had been with Good periodically throughout the day and took him to the emergency room when he finally requested to go between 5 and 5:30 p.m.

Doctors initially thought it was a bug, gave  an IV since he was dehydrated and told him that he would probably be able to leave within an hour or two, said to Rasmussen.

Soon it was 8:30 p.m., and red/purplish bruises began appearing around Good’s knees. They alerted doctors, who suspected bacterial meningitis. A spinal tap was taken, but the fluid came back clear, which was an encouraging sign to them.

The rash continued to spread over Good’s body and he began to complain about having difficulty breathing.

He was given two different oxygen masks and eventually a tracheotomy.

Around this time, Rasmussen and their other roommate were asked to leave the emergency room.

“They kicked us out of the room and a doctor asked us a few questions,” Rasmussen said. “They said that we could see him in a few hours, so I went home and packed him an overnight bag, came back to the ER around 11:30 [p.m.] and found out that he had died.”

Good was a hilarious, unconcerned and shrimp-loving guy, who had a large amount of very close friends and was involved in a lot of peoples’ lives in a positive way, Rasmussen said.

While the final diagnosis of his death is determined, those concerned they might be at risk for infection are encouraged to visit or call the health center at 515-294-5801.